Contents:
- Medical Video: Endometriosis Symptoms and Causes: A Meet Our Researchers Video
- What is endometriosis?
- Characteristics and symptoms of endometriosis
- Is there anything I can do to treat endometriosis?
Medical Video: Endometriosis Symptoms and Causes: A Meet Our Researchers Video
When you often feel excessive pain around the pelvis, especially when you're menstruating, you might think of the cause, namelypremenstrual syndrome (PMS) aka premenstrual syndrome. Be careful, this complaint should not be underestimated because you could be at risk of experiencing endometriosis. Wow, what are the symptoms of endometriosis that women need to watch out for? Find out the full information below.
What is endometriosis?
Endometriosis is a disease that attacks the female reproductive organs, where abnormalities occur because endometrial tissue that should grow in the womb actually grows outside the uterus.
Every month there is thickening of the woman's uterine wall (endometrium) in preparation for conception. If there is no fertilization, the lining of the endometrium in the uterine wall will collapse and come out as menstrual blood.
In the case of endometriosis, the tissue actually grows outside the uterus and then decays like during menstruation. However, the blood is actually trapped, unable to get out because it is not in the womb. This causes irritation and inflammation which ultimately leads to a series of symptoms of endometriosis.
Characteristics and symptoms of endometriosis
Detecting the symptoms of endometriosis as early as possible is important to prevent this disease from getting worse and causing complications such as difficulty in having children. Usually, the symptoms of endometriosis are:
- Back pain
- Menstrual pain that is very painful
- Irregular menstruation, often accompanied by excessive bleeding
- Pain during sex
- Pain during bowel movements and small water
- There is blood in the urine and feces
- Having trouble getting pregnant
- Indigestion such as bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and nausea, especially during menstruation
There may be signs and symptoms of other endometriosis that have not been mentioned. For that, immediately consult a doctor if you complain of pain in your reproductive organs.
Is there anything I can do to treat endometriosis?
Unfortunately, until now no cure has been found for this disease. However, you can control the symptoms of endometriosis and the pain that arises.
- Take painkillers like ibuprofen or naproxen. However, not all cases succeed only by taking this medicine.
- Hormone therapy which aims to reduce estrogen levels in your body which can trigger the development of endometriosis.
- Take birth control pills to prevent endometriosis from getting worse and to relieve pain.
- Laparoscopic surgery to diagnose and eliminate endometrial tissue. You do this by making a small incision in the stomach to eliminate the growth of endometriosis tissue. For those of you who want to get pregnant, this surgery increases your chances of getting pregnant, although you cannot guarantee it fully.
All considerations taken to reduce the pain from this disease depend on your age and health condition. Treatment for women who are still fertile and planning to become pregnant is certainly different from women who are not willing to get pregnant.
In addition, you can do a daily healthy lifestyle to relieve various symptoms of endometriosis.
- Exercise regularly to relieve menstrual pain.
- Maintain a healthy diet, avoid fat to limit estrogen production.
- Take supplements to supply nutrients in the body. Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin B can help reduce estrogen levels in the body. However, always consult your doctor before taking any supplements.
Actually endometriosis can be prevented early, provided you are aware of a complaint on your body and do not hesitate to contact your doctor immediately when you feel symptoms of endometriosis.
